Chiefs Have One Major X-Factor Heading Into 2025

The Kansas City Chiefs saw their 2024 NFL campaign come to an unceremonious end in the Super Bowl, as it became blatantly obvious that their offense was not exactly up to snuff.

There are a variety of reasons why the Chiefs' offense simply wasn't very good this past year, and they will have to rectify those issues in the coming months.

However, Kansas City does have one X-factor to fall back on heading into 2025: running back Isiah Pacheco.

Pacheco didn't really get the chance to showcase much of his talent this past season, as a leg injury limited him to seven regular-season games. During that time, he rushed for 310 yards and a touchdown while averaging a pedestrian 3.7 yards per carry.

He also wasn't really able to find his bearings in the playoffs and was essentially relegated to the No. 2 running back role behind Kareem Hunt.

That is not something we should expect to see continue next season, especially considering that the 25-year-old fell just short of 1,000 yards in 2023, registering 935 yards and seven scores on 4.6 yards per attempt. And he achieved those numbers in 14 games.

Remember: two seasons ago, Pacheco was viewed as one of the better up-and-coming halfbacks in all of football. His 2024 campaign was marred by injuries and a pretty shoddy offensive line, but that doesn't change the fact that he remains a major key for the Chiefs next year.

Kansas City definitely needs to start focusing more on the run to take some pressure off of Mahomes. That means more touches for Pacheco, who is certainly a hard runner and has no problem punishing opposing defenses.

Of course, Pacheco also needs to stay healthy, as he has appeared in a combined 21 regular-season contests over the last couple of years.

But so long as Pacheco can stay on the field, the Chiefs should feed him regularly in 2025. He will be key to opening up the rest of the offense and potentially helping Mahomes and Co. rediscover their glory days.

If Kansas City can patch up its offensive line this offseason, be on the lookout for a big season from Pacheco.

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